Apparatus for cleaning knitting machines



June 17, 1947.

Filed Aug. 21, 1946 J. 1.. ALLEN APPARATUS FOR CLEANING KNITTINGMACHINES All?! 6 I 52 l 55 v'vw/m I j I w 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

A TTORNEYS June 17, 1947. ALL N 2,422,514

APPARATUS FOR CLEANING KNITTING MACHINES Filed Aug. 21, 1946 2Sheets-Sheet 2 lllllllllllllllllll A T TORNEYS.

Patented June 17, 1947 "UN 1 T ED STATES "OFF ICE 2,422,514hrrA-imtrfisnon CLEANiNG KN TTING MACHINES John L. Allen, New 'Bedfdrd;Mas's. Application Augu st 21, 1946, serial No. 651L946 (Cl; 66- I|. 68)

Claims. This invention relates to the cleaning of a machine suchasu'sedfor knitting fabrics.

A knitting machine -ernbo'dies'a large number of small'moving parts."Lint from the yarn used in knitting accumulates about these movingparts with the result that occasionally a bunch of yarn'lint will'bedislodged into som'e'of the small moving parts so as 'to cause abreakage of the parts such as the needles. Thisrequires the stopping ofthe machine for repair with the consequent loss or time and imperfectWork.

One of the objects of this invention is toprovide anapp'aratus fordislodgin lint from the 'ya'rnw'hich accumulates so that no build up ofthis lint can occur With the consequent dislodging of the lint andbreaking of some of the small moving parts.

Another object "ofithisinvention is to provide a construction which mabe easily assembled upon existing knitting machines 50 that the knittinmachines'that are already in use may be equipped with the apparatus.Another'object'of the invention is to provide cleaning of both rotaryand stationary parts with reference to whichm'o'veinen't occurs bycausing movement of the'cleaning apparatus from one of the existingmoving parts of the machine.

Another object of'the'invention is to provide a current ofair fordislodging any lint and good sealin connections for the conduit forconducting the air to the desired parts.

Another obiect of this invention is to provide 'a relatively simpleapparatus and one which maybemaintained in operation-without thenecessity of providing aspecially trained mechanic.

With these and other objects in 'view,'the invention consistsof certainnovel features of construction, as will'be more fully described andparticularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is an elevation largely diagrammatic illustrating generally theparts of a knitting machine which enter into this invention;

Fig. 2 is a partial sectional view illustrating thesupporting rod withmy air chamber mounted thereon;

Fig. 3 is asec'tional viw'on line 3-3 ofFig/Z;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view on a larger scale illustrating the movingparts of the knitting machine which are cleaned and the cleaningapparatus in its relation thereto.

In proceeding with this invention, I mount upon a stationary hollow rodwhich supports the upper structure of the machine, an air chamber, whichair chamber is revolved by connection "mounted for engagement. member3-8-maythus be adjusted vertically andv with'thesprea'dersior the 'work.:From this hollow rod and the air chamber fixed and movable no'zzlesarearranged'for sweeping airacross'the parts with reference to whichmovement occurs of the knitting machine. The source ofair is supplied tosome fixedpoint alon the hollow rod for distributionto the nozzles.

With referen'ce'to the drawings, It] represents 'the'ba'se plate ofjthe'ma'chine'which is supported on stanchions Ilabovethe annular frame1-2 which isin turnsuppor'ted by means of legs 13. Uprights l4 supportthe creel l5 carrying the packages of yarn 'itwhich areledup'wardly tostop motion I! and then downwardly through guides "I18andl9,"the'latt'er of which'issupporte'd 'byrod 20 centrally of themachine. Theyarns are led through further vguides 'Zl (see also Fig. 4)to the nee d1es'22 'Whic'h'lare carried. "by the rotating cylinder 23.These needles reciprocate in guides "24 in the cylinde'r'as thiscylinder is rotated'by means of annular gear 25 engaging 'the'drivingpinion 26. This pinion is on the end of shaft '2! whichhasfixed andloosepulleys-28 and '29 engaged by a belt. A hand wheel 30 is also fixed onthe shaft 2'l for manual operation. A drive for feeding the knitted work3| is taken from the otherend of shaft 21 at32 and transmitted as at3'3to pulley '34 and shaft 35 which g esandife'eds the work downwardlyof the machine in aknown manner.

As the cylinder23is rotated vertical motion is transmitted to the*needles'fi which have their looped portion '36 mounted between cams 31and 38 mounted upon plate 39 which is secured to the base plate ID. Thecams 3i and 3B are annular rings withspaced undulatingsurfaces to guidethe portion 3601 the needle. -A portion -40 of the plate 39 extendsupwardly and has a ring 4! secured thereto which in turn'carries a ring42: supported by spring 43 "and which-may be adjusted'against the springby the V slot 44 in- Which the thumb "screws 45 and handles are 'Thisupper cam.

the proper spacing may be obtained-between it and the cam edge of thecam'3l.

The annulus 48 which is fixed to theframeo-f the machine carries a cammember 49 with which.

the sinkers 50 engage. The sinkers move with the cylinder 23 and arelocated between the needles 22 and are given a horizontal movementin andout by reason of their U shaped portion 5| will not collect between theneedles and the sink-- ers or upon the cam member 49 which engages whichengages the cam 49. In order that lint Ibe sufficiently flexible'pressure in the annulus :rod while it also is provided tend along theflanges 6! or 62 and be engaged by the caps 64 and 65 to bind it inposition. This the sinkers, air is directed to sweep these sur= faces aswill now be described.

of this nozzle air will cause any lint which may have collected betweenthem to be dislodged and blown outwardly ofthe machine. Air is suppliedto this hollow portion 55 either by entry directly into the hollowportion 55 or by means of entry by the T connection 51 by means of aconduit 58 g which leads to some suitable air supply source such forinstance as a compressor or tank. Air under pressure with an open=approximately 30 pounds ing of about 20 thousandths of an inch at thenozzle is found to be a suitable proportion for.

the usual knitting machine.

In addition to the nozzle 56 I mount a chamber;

59 upon the rod externally of a hollow portion thereof so as to providean annulus 60 about this rod. This chamber 59 is cylindrical withoutwardly turned flanges El and 62 at either end with washer 63 mountedto telescope tube v2Eiand so as to be responsive to 611 to force itagainst the with a flange to ex- .chamber 59 is prevented from axialmovement :along the rod by collars 65 and 61 held by set screws 68 and69 upon the rod 20. An opening '19 is provided in the wall of the rod 20to communicate the bore 55 of the rod with the annulus 6B. Nozzle H isrigidly mounted upon the chamber 59 to extend directly toward the fixedcam d9 so that the discharge of air from this nozzle as it is rotatedwill sweep the cam 49 and keep its surface free of lint.

' In order to rotate the chamber 59 and its-nozzle H a bracket 12 ismounted upon the-chamber and is provided with a pin 13 (see Fig. 4) andthe knurled handle 14 to extend downwardly and lock with the rotatingspreader 15 which serves as a guide for spreading the work 3| as it isformed and is turned by the machine.

By this arrangement, I provide a fixed nozzle past which the needles andsinkers move and also a rotary nozzle which is swept across thestationary parts of the machine so that between these nozzles all lintfrom moving parts where it freely accumulates is dislodged and thebreakage due to the accumulation of lint and fine particles is'reducedor eliminated. g g

I claim:

1. Apparatus for cleaning a knitting machine of the type having astationary part and a cylinder rotating relative to the same, comprisinga hollow supporting rod within said cylinder, a chamber rotatablymounted on said rod, a nozzle carried by said chamber and rotatabletherewith, means on said chamber to engage a rotatable part of saidmachine for rotation of said chamber, a conduit from said hollow rod tosaid'chamber and a conduit from said rod'to some external part of themachine for conducting air to said hollow rod.

' chamber rotatably mounted on said rod, a nozzle carried by saidchamber and rotatable therewith 2. Apparatus for cleaning a knittingmachine of the type having a stationary part and a cylin= der rotatingrelative to the same, comprising a hollow supporting rod within saidcylinder, a chamber rotatably mounted on said rod, a nozzle carried bysaid chamber and rotatable therewith, means on said chamber to engage arotatable part of said machine for rotation of said cham ber, a conduitfrom said hollow rod to said cham her and a conduit from said rod tosome external part of the machine for conducting air to said 'hollowrod, and a second nozzle extending from said hollow rod and fixedtherewith.

of the type having a stationary part and a cylin- ;der rotating relativeto the same, comprising a.

hollow supporting rod within said cylinder, a

directed toward movable mechanism in the stationary part, means on" saidchamber to engage a rotatable part of said machine for rotation of saidchamber, a conduit from said hollow rod'to said chamber [and a conduitfrom said rod to some external part of the machine for conducting air tosaid hollow rod.

4. Apparatus for cleaning a knitting machine of the typehaving astationary part and'a cylinder rotating relative to the same, comprisinga hollow supporting rod within said cylinder, at a chamber rotatablymounted on said rod, a nozzle carried by said chamber and rotatabletherewith,

means on said'cham'ber to, engage a rotatable part of said machine forrotation of said chamher, a conduit from said hollow 'rod to saidchamber and a conduitfrom said rod to some external part of the machinefor conducting air to said hollow rod, and a second nozzle extendingfrom said hollow rod and fixed therewith'and directed toward movablemechanism in said movable part.

5. Apparatus for cleaning a knitting machine of the typ having astationary part and a cylinder rotating relative to the same, comprisinga hollow supporting rod within said cylinder, a chamber rotatablymounted on said rod, a nozzle carried by said chamber and rotatabletherewith directed toward tmovable mechanism in the stationary part,means on said chamber to engage a rotatable part of said machine forrotation of said chamber, a conduit from said hollow rod to said chamberand a conduit from saidrod to some external part of the machine forconducting air to said hollow rod and a second nozzle extending fromsaid hollow rod and fixed therewith and directed toward movablemechanism in said The following references are of record in file of thispatent: V

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number 'Name Date' 2,325,023 Allred July 27, 1943the 3. Apparatus for cleaning a knitting machine

